Duo plead not guilty over university IT fraud allegations

A former university IT manager and the operator of an IT consulting firm have pleaded not guilty to fraud charges.

Brett Roberts has been accused of using his position at a series of universities to generate fraudulent invoices to Management and Professional Services Pty Ltd (MAPS), a one-person IT consultancy company owned by Christopher Killalea.

Roberts was employed at the University of Newcastle from 2005 to 2007 and at the University of Sydney in 2010 and 2011. He worked at Macquarie University from 2012 to 2013.

It has been alleged that the money from the issuing of invoices at the University of Newcastle and Macquarie University was deposited into bank accounts controlled by MAPS or Roberts.

The claims were the subject of a 2015 public inquiry by New South Wales’ Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

Roberts and Killalea have pleaded not guilty to dishonestly obtaining a benefit by deception.

Killalea appeared in Sydney Local Court on 9 May, while Roberts was represented by his lawyer.

Copyright 2018 IDG Communications. ABN 14 001 592 650. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of IDG Communications is prohibited.